Five official Utah lookups for home, water, child care and help, and what each one can't tell you

Utah's agencies publish a handful of lookups that answer everyday questions: is this contractor licensed, what is in my tap water, where can I find child care, who can help with a bill, is there a rebate for a new furnace. Each page also says, sometimes in small print, what the tool does not do. Here are five, with those limits.

Before you hire a contractor

The Division of Consumer Protection says contractors in Utah are required to hold a license and liability insurance, and that you can check a license with the Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) through its licensee lookup. It also advises getting a written agreement that covers the price estimate, a summary of the work and materials, start and estimated completion dates, who cleans up and any warranty, with the payment schedule and credit terms in writing if you are financing. ^[1]

The page adds a local step: ask your city whether contractors need a local business license and confirm yours has it. It recommends several estimates, starting with contractors a friend or relative has used, reading everything before you sign and keeping a receipt for every payment. If you cannot resolve a problem directly, the division's number is (801) 530-6601, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ^[1]

Your drinking water report

The Division of Drinking Water links a tool for finding which public water system serves you. Each community water system has to give customers a consumer confidence report every year; the division says you can "often" find it on your supplier's website, so if it is not there, ask the supplier for a copy. ^[2]

The division also rates each public water system, with ratings such as Approved or Not Approved, at waterlink.utah.gov. The page does not list other ratings. Private wells and springs are not regulated by the division and may fall under local health department rules. If you want your own test, the page links a list of Utah-certified labs that charge a fee, and notes that your supplier already tests routinely, with results that may be in the report. Look there before you pay for a test. ^[2]

Finding licensed child care

The Department of Workforce Services' Care About Childcare search lets parents look for care by location, cost and type, and by a program's licensing record and its Child Care Quality System rating. The page links to child care assistance and to a finder for afterschool programs. It does not mention openings, so a listing is not a sign that a program has space. ^[3]

Help with a bill, a meal or a service: 211

211 Utah publishes printable resource lists by county, most in English and Spanish. The site's own advice is to use its online database or call 211 for the most current information. Some list links point to older files: one goes to a web archive snapshot from December 2023, and a second group of county entries links to files dated 2019 or 2021. Check the date on any list before you rely on it. ^[4]

Home energy rebates: not open yet

The state's Home Energy Rebate program is on hold until further notice. The Office of Energy Development says it applied to the U.S. Department of Energy in December 2024, that the application has not been approved and that no funding is being distributed. The page gives no date for a decision and says only that the office will post updates. If you are planning a purchase around that rebate, do not count on it yet. ^[5]